


that's the last you'll see of me

by bluebutch



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, god jihyo doesn't need a (wo)man, or does she?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:54:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29915127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebutch/pseuds/bluebutch
Summary: Nayeon sat across from Mina in the mess hall, and watched as she sipped her mostly-water-with-a-dash-of-coffee. “So, zombies, huh?”Mina laughed, and Nayeon knew she never wanted to go another day without hearing that laugh. She hoped she’ll hear it for the years they have to come, but cursed internally at the thought. They were living on borrowed time in a world that was trying its hardest to kill them."Yeah, zombies. Just another day in the life, right?"
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Hirai Momo/Yoo Jeongyeon, Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	that's the last you'll see of me

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time attempting to write a multi-chapter story! I've been working on this for a few months, and I finally decided to post it after rewriting over and over. 
> 
> Chapter title is from Wallflower by Beach House.

“C’mon, Nay. You’re gonna miss breakfast.”

Nayeon shoved her face deeper into her pillow, letting out a long groan. “Five more minutes.”

Mina’s gentle laugh reached her ears. “Last time you said that, you slept for an hour, missed breakfast, then complained about how hungry you were until lunch.” Her hands moved to the blankets, ripping them away from Nayeon.

The older girl shrieked as cold air caused goosebumps to break out along her exposed skin, her t-shirt and sleep shorts doing little to keep her warm. “Mina! You’ll pay for that.” The threat came out half-assed, the older girl too busy trying to wake herself up. Nayeon swung her feet onto the floor. She winced slightly at the chill of the linoleum as she stretched her arms above her head.

Mina handed her pants over. Nayeon shuffled her shorts off, snorting at the light blush that dusted across Mina’s cheeks, and slipped her pants on. A year of dating and her bare legs never failed to cause her girlfriend to flush. It was moments like these that allowed her to forget what had happened to the world, what they were living through.

“See something you like?” Nayeon smirked, eyebrows dancing on her forehead.

Mina took a step forward, stepping into Nayeon’s space. “Yeah, I think I do.” Her eyes flicked down to Nayeon’s mouth, and Nayeon took advantage of the opportunity. She grabbed Mina’s hips, spinning the younger girl and pinning her to the mattress. Mina gasped when Nayeon sat on top of her lap. She dipped her head towards Mina’s until their faces were centimeters away. Nayeon’s smile grew wider when she noticed Mina’s breathing pick up in anticipation.

“W-What’re you doing?” Mina stuttered. Her face practically glowed with how flushed she was.

“Taking my revenge.”

Nayeon suddenly jammed her fingers into Mina’s sides, tickling her in retaliation for being woken up. The black-haired girl squealed beneath her and tried to wiggle out from underneath Nayeon. Mina’s laughter echoed around the room, and she screamed for Nayeon to stop. The two girls wrestled on the bunk, covers and pillows kicked off in the midst of their fight. A gasp escaped Nayeon’s lips as Mina easily flipped them, her body pressed to the mattress and her hands shoved above her head in one of Mina’s own. Mina leaned down, lips brushing lightly against Nayeon’s but not making full contact. Two could play at that game.

“You play dirty, Im Nayeon.”

Nayeon raised her head to kiss her girlfriend, but Mina pulled away, releasing her grip on Nayeon’s hands. A flip switched, and Mina went from playful to responsible in a fraction of a second. She stood and searched for Nayeon’s boots, shoving them towards the girl, who was still splayed breathless on her bed.

“C’mon. They’re waiting for us.”

“Fine.” Nayeon grumbled before sitting up to lace up her boots. She took the time to tuck her shirt in properly, knowing that Mina would fix it for her if Nayeon didn’t do it. Her survival knife rested on her nightstand alongside her pistol, and Nayeon strapped the blade holster to her left leg, and the gun to her right. It never hurt to be too prepared.

The pair left the dorms, beginning the short trek across the military base to the mess hall. The autumn air carried a slight breeze, and Nayeon shivered. On a day like this, one could mistake the world for being just that: normal. But, one glance at the way every person they passed was armed with a weapon, or at the watch towers that were never abandoned at the edges of the base, and one would remember their circumstances.

Upon arriving at the mess hall, Mina and Nayeon picked up their food, and Nayeon let out a high-pitched whine as she looked at her tray. Mina elbowed her and thanked the staff for the food before dragging her girlfriend away.

“Eggs, again? Can’t they serve something else for once?” Nayeon griped.

Ignoring her girlfriend, Mina herded Nayeon across the mess hall. They spotted a familiar pair sitting side by side at their usual table and they made their way over. Mina and Nayeon settled opposite of the two girls, the latter letting out a dramatic sigh.

“Morning, guys.” Mina greeted.

“Morning. What’s up with her?” Jihyo asked Mina, gesturing to Nayeon, who was busy whining and pushing at her eggs. Jeongyeon simply grunted in greeting, her mouth full.

“Oh, she’s just being ungrateful. She doesn’t like the eggs anymore.”

Nayeon chewed her food before opening her mouth to retaliate. It wasn’t her fault that the chefs insisted on serving the same damn watery eggs every morning. “Hey! You’re my girlfriend, you’re supposed to comfort me. Not insult me.”

The black-haired girl smiled, but Jeongyeon interrupted her before she could speak. “Speaking of girlfriends, what did you two lovebirds get up to last night?”

“None of your business, Yoo.” Nayeon replied, knowing full well that Jeongyeon was fishing for something to blackmail her with. If she told her the truth of what they did, Jeongyeon would never let it go. Jihyo would probably skin Nayeon alive, too, if she found out. Not Mina, though. Mina was always innocent, according to Jihyo.

Jeongyeon pointed her fork at Nayeon. “Hey, it’s my right to know when it was my room that you kicked me out of.”

“For the record, we share that room. It’s not all yours.” Nayeon insisted. She didn’t feel guilty in the least for kicking Jeongyeon out if it meant she and Mina got a few hours alone together. Between supply runs and rescue missions, Nayeon and Mina barely spent any time alone.

“You know what, Im—”

“Okay! Enough from you two. I’d like to go one morning without you two fighting.” Jihyo interrupted, glaring at them, her hands rubbing at her temples as if she could physically prevent the Nayeon-and-Jeongyeon induced headache that was already coming on. “The eggs are pretty shit, though.” Jihyo added.

A dramatic gasp came from Nayeon. “Did I just hear Sergeant Park diss the eggs? You wouldn’t dare talk shit about the hard-working kitchen staff, would you, Sarge?”

“Oh, shut it, Nayeon.” Jihyo said, clearly trying to keep her face poised. Nayeon’s waggling eyebrows were enough for her to begin laughing, and soon everyone was laughing at Nayeon’s antics. Nayeon could almost believe that the universe was normal. She imagined that the four of them were simply college students eating breakfast together, not soldiers doing their best to survive. But, the illusion cracked when they finished breakfast, and the group headed straight to their morning drill.

Jihyo and Mina led the drill, as per usual. As sergeants they were responsible for their squad’s morning training. Their squads were small, as Jihyo and Mina only handled less than a dozen soldiers each. They ran through their daily routine, completing a workout and combat training. Jeongyeon and Nayeon traded jabs throughout their activities, Jihyo and Mina half-heartedly scolding them every once in a while.

Once their morning drill was over, Nayeon broke away from the group to go to the med bay. As a combat medic, she typically made rounds there to check up on any patients they had and lend a hand. Her work for the day was mundane, but Nayeon didn’t mind. She cleaned a few small wounds, helped organize and take stock of their medical supplies, and messed around with the other medics. It was easy to lose herself in the simplicity of her work.

That feeling crept up on her again—the feeling of almost normalcy. Nayeon tried to remember the last time she felt truly normal. It was about two years ago, if she had to guess.

Two years ago, the world had ended.

The planet didn’t blow up, robots didn’t take over as the master race, nor did aliens invade Earth.

Instead, the dead started coming back to life.

If someone had told her two years ago that she would be fighting zombies, Nayeon would have laughed. She had expected the world to end thousands of years from now, with a big explosion, or something else equally dramatic. Who would’ve thought that most of the world’s population would be eradicated by a mysterious zombifying virus? Not Nayeon, that’s for sure.

The government had tried their best to save the country, Nayeon supposed, if their ‘best’ consisted of completely falling apart within three months of the first infected showing up and leaving the citizens of the country to defend themselves. Lucky for Nayeon, or not so lucky, she and Jeongyeon were deployed to a military base just outside Seoul to help ‘save the world.’

Nayeon and Jeongyeon didn’t save the world. Yes, they saved kids, adults, even some pets. The world, though? The world was fucked. It was too far gone to save. It didn’t matter how many missions Jihyo led them on, or how many civilians Nayeon patched up. The dead’s numbers kept rising, the living kept falling, and everyone’s hope for hell on Earth to end grew smaller with each passing day.

All forms of the government fell apart as the number of dead skyrocketed, and Camp Stanley was abandoned nearly overnight as more soldiers succumbed to the virus, and others left to take their own shot at surviving. Over time, the base’s population shrunk, leaving only a small faction of soldiers and rescued civilians.

Nayeon laughed to herself as she remembered the bet she made with Jeongyeon their first week on base. The first few weeks of the outbreak, everyone had believed that things would eventually go back to normal. That some doctor would create a cure and they would eventually go about their normal lives again. Jeongyeon said it would take at least a year for the virus to be controlled; Nayeon was overly confident and said six months. Jihyo abstained from the bet, and now Nayeon wondered if she had understood the true depth of the shit show they were in.

Six months came and went. Society continued to collapse, the dead were still walking, and most importantly, Nayeon lost twenty bucks.

Well, maybe the complete disintegration of the government and military was slightly more important than Nayeon’s empty wallet. But, not by much.

By the time Nayeon passed a crumpled twenty dollar bill into Jeongyeon’s hand, the money was worthless, and Jeongyeon’s face wasn’t smiling in satisfaction at winning the bet. Instead, her eyebrows furrowed, she shoved the money into her pocket with a quiet ‘thanks’, and Nayeon tried to ignore the guilt that rolled in her stomach. The bill was a relic from a bygone era, a symbol of the life they were forced to leave behind. Nayeon had only wanted to make her best friend laugh a bit. God knows they could all use a good laugh every once in a while.

Nayeon laughed now, watching as Ryujin tightened the practice tourniquet around Yuna’s leg. Yuna whined in pain with each turn of the windlass and Nayeon couldn’t help herself from laughing when the younger girl frowned, looking like an injured puppy.

“It’s not that bad. You volunteered to be the test dummy, so really it’s your fault that you’re in pain.” Nayeon said.

One last crank on the windlass, and Yuna howled. “I didn’t expect Ryujin to try and take off my leg!”

“You do realize that tourniquets cut off all circulation to the limb, right?” Ryujin piped up. Her hands worked at the windlass again, turning it the opposite direction, relieving the pressure and allowing Yuna’s blood to flow in her leg again.

“Well you didn’t tell me that before I volunteered.” Yuna flexed her foot back and forth before jumping off the cot, her pain forgotten as she bounced on her toes.

A few months ago, Yuna and Ryujin had rolled into the base like a storm, becoming the liveliest new recruits on base with their never-ending reserves of energy and boundless determination. How they managed to retain their determination after two years of fighting zombies, Nayeon wasn’t sure, but it was impressive. Yuna wasn’t training to become a medic like Ryujin, her skill set instead placing her under the wing of an infantryman, but the young girl was glued to Ryujin’s hip. She trailed Ryujin to her training sessions with Nayeon when she wasn’t busy with her own.

As one of the base’s few head combat medics, Nayeon had the annoying responsibility of training new recruits, and Ryujin was one of the few recruits who didn’t drive her nuts. She was shaping up to be a talented medic, keeping calm under pressure and exceeding at almost every skill Nayeon taught her.

“Good job, Ryujin.” The clock on the wall read 17:32, signalling it was time for dinner. “We’ll go over more bleeding control techniques tomorrow. Now, go grab some dinner before it gets cold.”

Ryujin thanked her, putting away the medical equipment with Yuna’s help. The girls took off, racing ahead to the mess hall. Nayeon shut down the bay, turning off the lights and trailing after Ryujin and Yuna to grab some dinner. Besides Ryujin and Yuna chatting away, most of the tables were empty by the time she arrived, but Nayeon spotted Jeongyeon with an extra tray for her at their table. Mina and Jihyo were nowhere in sight. Nayeon was late, but that didn’t explain their absence.

“Hey, Jeong. Where’s Mina and Jihyo?” Jeongyeon slid the tray over to Nayeon when she sat down, the latter digging in immediately.

Jeongyeon shrugged. “Jihyo said something about a meeting.” One hand played absentmindedly with the dog tags around her neck, the other spearing a piece of chicken into her mouth.

“So you’re saying I’m stuck with your dumb ass all night?”

“This dumbass happened to get her hands on some whiskey, so you better shut it before I decide to not share.”

Nayeon’s eyes widened. “Where the hell did you get whiskey? We haven’t been off base in a week.”

The corner of Jeongyeon’s mouth curled up in a cocky grin. “I traded Jackson one of those old action figures I found. One power ranger in exchange for one handle of whiskey,” Of course Jackson gave up alcohol for some stupid action figure. He might look tough, but the man was such a softie deep down. “Tower?”

“Fuck, yeah.” Nayeon grinned, knowing exactly what Jeongyeon was implying. She had the greatest best friend on the fucking planet.

Twenty minutes later, after finishing dinner with minimal complaints from Nayeon on the quality of the food, Jeongyeon and Nayeon sat down on the balcony of a watchtower, legs hanging off the edge.

The barely-used tower had been discovered and unofficially claimed by Nayeon and Jeongyeon during one of their nights off after their arrival on base last year. Jihyo had protested their unsanctioned use of the abandoned tower, but her resolve softened when Jeongyeon bribed her with her secret stash of booze. Jihyo may be a sergeant, but she was a sucker for wine, and she had promptly shut up when Jeongyeon handed over a bottle of merlot.

Jeongyeon produced the whiskey bottle seemingly out of nowhere, working the cap off and taking a swig before passing it over to Nayeon. She took a long pull, face barely twitching from the taste after swallowing. An easy silence settled over them, each girl taking small sips from the bottle.

Nayeon wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time Jeongyeon broke the silence. Her thoughts were already fuzzy.

“Do you think this is all there is?”

“What?” Nayeon responded dumbly, tipsy enough for her comprehension to be dulled.

Jeongyeon swung her feet back and forth. “Is this all that’s left for us to do? Get drunk? Go on endless patrols? Pray that we don’t get bit?”

Nayeon didn’t answer. The forest was silent beneath their feet, illuminated by the light from the full moon. From up above, it was beautiful, but Nayeon knew it was merely a trick of the light. Eventually she shrugged, unable to come up with an answer that felt sufficient. “Isn’t this enough?”

“Sometimes I just…” Jeongyeon trailed off.

Nayeon waited for her to finish. It took a few minutes for Jeongyeon to collect her thoughts. Nayeon let the night sounds wash over her, the alcohol warming her skin against the freezing air.

“I wonder if there’s something more out there. Something that will give us a reason to live, not just a reason to survive.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Jeongyeon let her body fall back onto the metal of the balcony, turning her eyes to the stars above their heads, and Nayeon followed suit. One perk of most of the world dying was the lack of light pollution. Before, Nayeon had never truly appreciated the beauty of the sky and everything held within it. Now, the view took her breath away. “Maybe there’s a cure, or something. Maybe there are more people out there trying to do what we are. I just feel this longing for something… more.”

A lazy smirk sat on Nayeon’s face. “You just want a girlfriend.”

Jeongyeon laughed, loud and bright, and Nayeon stared at her best friend. Jeongyeon belonged amongst the stars above with how brightly she shined.

“I don’t think I’ll be finding one of those any time soon.”

“I don’t know, Jeong. Ryujin gushes about you all the time.”

“She only has eyes for Yuna, and you know that.”

They both laughed, content to let the whiskey wash away their troubles. Nayeon and Jeongyeon each took a few more sips, and they fell into a comfortable silence again as they studied the sky. Nayeon wasn’t sure how much time passed when she felt Jeongyeon’s eyes turn to her. It could have been minutes, or hours, she wasn’t sure. Nayeon met Jeongyeon’s eyes, startled slightly by the intensity of her gaze.

“I’ll never leave you.”

“Promise?” Nayeon asked, knowing that this was a promise Jeongyeon could never keep.

That didn’t stop her. A cold hand searched for Nayeon’s, squeezing it three times. “Promise.”

\---

Later, when Mina’s arms were wrapped around Nayeon and sleep was pulling them in like a calm wave, Nayeon prayed that Jeongyeon was wrong, and that this was all there ever was.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This first chapter is just a little intro to the world and characters. I'll be posting the second chapter in the next few days. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :) You can yell at me on my twitter @bluebutchh 
> 
> If you notice any mistakes or errors, please let me know so I can fix them.


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